Robert Ludlum's (TM) The Bourne Enigma

On the eve of Russian general Boris Karpov's wedding, Jason Bourne receives an enigmatic message from his old friend and fellow spymaster. In Moscow, what should be a joyous occasion turns bloody and lethal. Now Bourne is the only one who can decipher Karpov's cryptogram. He discovers that Karpov has betrayed his sovereign to warn Bourne of a crippling disaster about to be visited on the world. Bourne has only four days to discover the nature of the disaster and stop it.

American Assassin

Before he was considered a CIA superagent, before he was thought of as a terrorists worst nightmare, and before he was both loathed and admired by the politicians on Capitol Hill, Mitch Rapp was a gifted college athlete without a care in the world . . . and then tragedy struck.

Without Remorse

His work for the CIA is brilliant, cold-blooded, and efficient, but who is he? In a harrowing tour de force, phenomenally best-selling author Tom Clancy shows how an ordinary man named John Kelly crossed the lines of justice and morality to become the CIA legend known as Mr. Clark. It is an unforgettable journey into the heart of darkness, without mercy - without remorse.

The Matarese Circle: A Matarese Novel

Only two rival spies - and one mysterious woman - can stop them: Scofield, CIA, and Talaniekov, KGB. They share a genius for espionage - and a life of terror and explosive violence. Sworn enemies, they have vowed to terminate each other - yet now they must become allies. Because only they possess the brutal skills and ice-cold nerves vital to destroy an international circle of killers, the Matarese.

Night School: A Jack Reacher Novel, Book 21

It's 1996, and Reacher is still in the army. In the morning they give him a medal, and in the afternoon they send him back to school. That night he's off the grid. Out of sight, out of mind. Two other men are in the classroom - an FBI agent and a CIA analyst. Each is a first-rate operator, each is fresh off a big win, and each is wondering what the hell they are doing there. Then they find out: A jihadist sleeper cell in Hamburg, Germany, has received an unexpected visitor - a Saudi courier seeking safe haven while waiting to rendezvous with persons unknown.

The Icarus Agenda

Colorado Congressman Evan Kendrick is trying to live out his term of office quietly—when a political mole reveals to the world Kendrick's deepest secret: that Kendrick was the anonymous man in Masqar, the man who courageously freed the hostage held in the American embassy by Arab terrorists; the unknown hero who performed an act of outrageous daring then silently disappeared. Now, suddenly, Kendrick is a living target pursued by the terrorists he outwitted.

Odessa Sea: Dirk Pitt, Book 24

Dirk Pitt, the director of the National Underwater and Marine Agency, is on the Black Sea, helping to locate a lost Ottoman shipwreck, when he responds to an urgent Mayday - "under attack!" - from a nearby freighter. But when he and his colleague, Al Giordino, arrive, there is nobody there. Just dead bodies, a smell of sulfur in the air, and, as Pitt and Giordino explore, a blast from the stern that scuttles the ship swiftly, almost taking them with it.

Angels and Demons

World-renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned to a Swiss research facility to analyze a cryptic symbol seared into the chest of a murdered physicist. What he discovers is unimaginable: a deadly vendetta against the Catholic Church by a centuries-old underground organization, the Illuminati. Desperate to save the Vatican from a powerful time bomb, Langdon joins forces in Rome with the beautiful and mysterious scientist Vittoria Vetra.

A Time to Die: Victor the Assassin, Book 6

Now that professional assassin Victor is indentured to British Intelligence, he is tasked with eliminating the worst of the worst. One such man is Milan Rados, a former Serbian paramilitary commander wanted for war crimes and now head of an organized criminal network in Belgrade. He has escaped justice once already, so it's Victor's job to take the justice to him.

Jurassic Park: A Novel

Audie Award, Science Fiction, 2016. An astonishing technique for recovering and cloning dinosaur DNA has been discovered. Now humankind's most thrilling fantasies have come true. Creatures extinct for eons roam Jurassic Park with their awesome presence and profound mystery, and all the world can visit them - for a price.

The Complete Sherlock Holmes: The Heirloom Collection

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes tales are rightly ranked among the seminal works of mystery and detective fiction. Included in this collection are all four full-length Holmes novels and more than forty short masterpieces - from the inaugural adventure A Study in Scarlet to timeless favorites like “The Speckled Band” and more. At the center of each stands the iconic figure of Holmes - brilliant, eccentric, and capable of amazing feats of deductive reasoning.

The Parsifal Mosaic

Michael Havelock's world died on a moonlit beach on the Costa Brava. He watched as his partner and lover, Jenna Karats, double agent, was efficiently gunned down by his own agency. There was nothing left for him but to quit the game, get out. Until, in one frantic moment on a crowded railroad platform in Rome, Havelock saw his Jenna alive. From then on, he was marked for death by both U.S. and Russian assassins, racing around the globe after his beautiful betrayer, trapped in a massive mosaic of treachery.

Black Hawk Down

Ninety-nine elite American soldiers are trapped in the middle of a hostile city. As night falls, they are surrounded by thousands of enemy gunmen. Their wounded are bleeding to death. Their ammunition and supplies are dwindling. This is the story of how they got there - and how they fought their way out. Black Hawk Down drops you into a crowded marketplace in the heart of Mogadishu, Somalia with the U.S. Special Forces and puts you in the middle of the most intense firelight American soldiers have fought since the Vietnam war.

Pirate: A Sam and Remi Fargo Adventure, Book 8

Husband-and-wife treasure-hunting team Sam and Remi Fargo have gone on impossible missions before and faced many perils, but never have they faced an adversary as determined as the one before them now. The battle will take them halfway around the world and at its end will be either one of the most glorious finds in history - or certain death.

Relapse: Breakers, Book 7

Anson's army has driven Raina from the mainland, but the war is far from over. From the safety of Catalina Island, she launches a guerrilla campaign, meaning to weaken him cut by cut. She finds herself matched at every step by his grimly determined lieutenant, Lowell. With progress slower than expected, Raina is forced to accept the creation of a war council. But the council's will to fight is weakening by the day. Pressured by her enemies and from within, Raina soon finds her grip on the island slipping.

The Hobbit

Like every other hobbit, Bilbo Baggins likes nothing better than a quiet evening in his snug hole in the ground, dining on a sumptuous dinner in front of a fire. But when a wandering wizard captivates him with tales of the unknown, Bilbo becomes restless. Soon he joins the wizard’s band of homeless dwarves in search of giant spiders, savage wolves, and other dangers. Bilbo quickly tires of the quest for adventure and longs for the security of his familiar home. But before he can return to his life of comfort, he must face the greatest threat of all.

The Black Echo: Harry Bosch Series, Book 1

For LAPD homicide cop Harry Bosch - hero, maverick, nighthawk - the body in the drainpipe at Mulholland Dam is more than another anonymous statistic. This one is personal. The dead man, Billy Meadows, was a fellow Vietnam "tunnel rat" who fought side by side with him in a nightmare underground war that brought them to the depths of hell.

The Company: A Novel of the CIA

"If Robert Littell didn't invent the American spy novel," says Tom Clancy, "he should have." In this spectacular Cold-War-as-Alice-in-Wonderland epic, Littell, "the American le Carre," takes us down the rabbit hole and into the labyrinthine world of espionage that has been the CIA for the last half-century. "Ostensibly a single novel, The Company can also be listened to as an anthology of cracking good spy stories," says (Publishers Weekly).

Publisher's Summary

He was dragged from the sea, his body riddled with bullets. There are a few clues: a frame of microfilm surgically implanted beneath the skin of his hip; evidence that plastic surgery has altered his face; strange things he says in his delirium, which could be code words. And a number on the film negative that leads to a bank account in Zurich, four million dollars, and a name for the amnesiac: Jason Bourne.Now he is running for his life.

A man with an unknown past and an uncertain future, the target of assassins and at the heart of a deadly puzzle. He's fighting for survival and no one can help him - except the one woman who once wanted to escape him...

I've read The Bourne Identity many times. It's a great thriller - full of excitement, well-paced and well-constructed. It's a little old-fashioned nowadays, I guess, but I was really excited when I saw it was available from Audible and bought it straightaway.

What a disappointment!!! The reader, Scott Brick, who is billed as an outstanding performer, gave an over-the-top histrionic performance which completely ruined this talking book for me!

"And he LOOKED over the BOAT'S RAILING and he SAW ...". Enough of that - you get the picture. Every noun and every verb was declaimed in a tone of almost complete hysteria.

I was driving the car down a country lane while I listened to the start of the book and I had to pull off the road after about 20 minutes and stop the performance. I just couldn't stand any more!

I'll never listen to The Bourne Identity now, sadly -- what a total waste of an excellent book. And why on earth did the reader feel the need to do this?? I'll be watching out for books read by Scott Brick in future -- to make sure I avoid them ...

Huh? What did he say?Unfortunately Mr Scott Bri has the tendency to use a soft voice with some parts so if you are listening in a noisy environment, like in a moving vehicle, you tend to lose the las par of some wo. (And possibly some sentences too?)

The book is exceptional. The story much better than the story in the movie but I see it as a bonus (similar stories in the same vein).I thoroughly enjoyed the story and look forward to the next in the series (Supremacy) BUT I am going to opt for the abridged version narrated by Jeff Harding, even though it is 20 hours shorter. From the sample it sounds acceptable.

The performance of the narrator is mostly top notch but I hate it when people do not finish their words or sentences. If a word is worth saying then say it, dont sa i.

Yes. The book is great; a page turner. But this audio book is a bit annoying. Why? See below.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yep.

What three words best describe Scott Brick’s performance?

Improvisation, Dissident, Character.

Any additional comments?

Scott's performance isn't bad, but it's more an interpretation than reading the book. Certain passages got completely altered by Scott, which makes it hard to follow when listening to the audio book and reading the book at the same time. His characterization is believable, though. The story comes to live. But as I said it's not what Robert Ludlum wrote.

My interest in the BOURNE stories was created by viewing the movies. I have only hear this one book so far. I could not gain the interest in it that I have had in other Audible books. I will try again with another BOURNE story and try again.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Obtain a new reader. Don't watch the movie first.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The story is involved, this is the way it is meant to be but needs a person with the ability of the author to make the story real in your mind. I didn't find this with this reader.

Any additional comments?

The movie spoilt this plus the reader. I will leave it for a while till the movies forgotten then try another one.

I can't fault the story - Ludlum is Ludlum, you know what you're getting - but I simply could not grow to appreciate the narrator. His melodramatic, overblown style would already have lost him a star or two, but the way he murders those accents (and there's a LOT of accented dialogue in this story)... It's simply impossible to suspend disbelief when the voice you're hearing is a hammy camped up parody of a generic European accent.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Ross

Harrogate, United Kingdom

10/2/12

Overall

"A great story but a dreadful narrator"

I love the Bourne character and the stories but I cannot abide Scott Bricks narration.

This may be just a personal choice but I also did not like his style when I listened to Blade Runner. Anyway, make up your own mind and listen to the extract before you purchase! Sorry, Scott

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

Nornia

Colchester, United Kingdom

3/4/12

Overall

"Superb"

Many years ago I read this and the other Bourne books, I have to say that whilst set in the 70s the books have not lost any of their appeal. The narrator does a good job, not excellent but good hence I've given 4 rather than 5 stars.

The books are VERY different to the films and in my opinion far superior. Bourne is a dark genius and the balance between action and suspense is perfect. The 2nd and 3rd books open up even more of the character as his memory comes back together.

I'd recommend this to anyone who is after a top rate thriller!!

5 of 5 people found this review helpful

MJY

2/2/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Great story, terrible narration."

I saw a few other comments similar to this but decided to purchase anyway, annoyed that I did. The narrating starts off fine, however when more characters are introduced (specifically anyone female or French) the reading is beyond comical and is actually annoying, the same generic and weird accent used for anyone who isn't American.

The story itself is very good and differs from the film, so I've actually bought the book as I want to finish it. Purchase at your own risk!!!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

carolyn

ipswich, United Kingdom

6/30/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"I'm a Ludlum virgin"

This my first Ludlum book, having seen all the films thought I'd give them ago. Firstly it's big, 3 down loads and obviously the films are completely different. But, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Got a bit muddled with all the characters till I got going, aside from that it was exciting, fast and gripping. Going to get the next one in the series.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

ADAM

GLASGOW, United Kingdom

1/3/13

Overall

"Much better than the Film"

As is the case with most books / films the Bourne book series is a thousand times better than the films. Far more invovled with a completely differnt plot. I have read them once now listening to them on Audible.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Steven

Neath, United Kingdom

3/1/12

Overall

"Nothing like the film"

After watching the film I thought I might like the book, after listening to it, I like the book a lot more, in fact it leaves it in the dust. Not the best reading, but not that bad either. Don't think I could play all the characters. I will now get the others in the series.

7 of 9 people found this review helpful

Mr

Brighouse, United Kingdom

12/23/12

Overall

"Bourne series Book 1 (not what I expected)"

Not having read the books, my first impression of the audio book was that it started very differently from the film and this theme continued throughout the book.

The narration was clear and easy to understand (I have had books that were poorly narrated), the book was enjoyable but I was left with the impression that if I had read the first book before the file came out, I probably would have never watched the films.

That said, this is a very good start to a very good series and I will definitely collect the rest of the Audio books and the printed books.

I like this series and hope that the future books are as good or better as the plots continue to pile up.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Flink

3/16/15

Overall

Performance

Story

"Good overall "

It took me a little while to get used to the narrator. He was a good choice actor but didn't initially seem like a good fit for me. I really loved this. Extremely different from the film, which I have always enjoyed. The biggest change seems to be the character of Marie. She is not a damsel in distress or someone who spends much of her time in a state of bewilderment. She is autonomous, strong, very intelligent and often drives the plot forward.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Peter

ENFIELD, United Kingdom

4/19/12

Overall

"Great Narration"

A newbie to audible, this was my first audio book for those long jams on the M25. I read this as a teenager and returning to it many years later after watching the films was fun. The writing itself may be a bit dated but the reading of it by Scott Brick was superb. He has just the right amount of accents for dialogue and intonation to identify the characters and keep you interested, without being too over the top.
Thoroughly recommend this. At 20-odd hours, plenty to get your teeth (or ears) into and exciting enough to keep you coming back on your next journey. Will be searching out more by this narrator.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

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